Interviews
Global unions demand IFI policy shift to respond to economic slowdown
11 Apr '08
3 min read
Global Unions are encouraging the IMF, in particular, to adopt measures to help cushion states against the global slowdown, such as assistance to offset the impact of higher food and fuel prices, an emergency credit facility for countries in financial difficulty, and measures to protect against destabilizing speculative capital movements.
"Just a year ago, the IMF would have been content to let market forces resolve a crisis like this," said Ryder, "but at the recent G7 meeting, even the managing director of the Fund recognized the importance of a coordinated fiscal stimulus response to the current global economic slowdown."
The statement sees a role for the IMF not only in responding to the current crisis, but in preventing new ones. In the statement, Global Unions call on the IMF to take a lead role in developing new international regulatory frameworks to control the largely unregulated activities and new financial instruments that helped set off the crisis.
On some longer-term issues, the statement acknowledges progress from the World Bank on requiring some of its projects to be implemented in conformity with the core labour standards. However, it questions the Bank's commitment to enforcing those standards, particularly at an important time when the World Bank is seeking to devolve more responsibility for procurement standards in Bank-financed projects to borrowing countries.
The statement also reiterates a long-standing but unanswered demand of both unions and other civil society organizations: that IFIs finally cease to use economic policy conditionality to demand harmful reforms from developing countries.
"Just a year ago, the IMF would have been content to let market forces resolve a crisis like this," said Ryder, "but at the recent G7 meeting, even the managing director of the Fund recognized the importance of a coordinated fiscal stimulus response to the current global economic slowdown."
The statement sees a role for the IMF not only in responding to the current crisis, but in preventing new ones. In the statement, Global Unions call on the IMF to take a lead role in developing new international regulatory frameworks to control the largely unregulated activities and new financial instruments that helped set off the crisis.
On some longer-term issues, the statement acknowledges progress from the World Bank on requiring some of its projects to be implemented in conformity with the core labour standards. However, it questions the Bank's commitment to enforcing those standards, particularly at an important time when the World Bank is seeking to devolve more responsibility for procurement standards in Bank-financed projects to borrowing countries.
The statement also reiterates a long-standing but unanswered demand of both unions and other civil society organizations: that IFIs finally cease to use economic policy conditionality to demand harmful reforms from developing countries.
International Trade Union Confederation
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